Tracing device



Sept. 16, 1947. J. B. LoBB TRACING DEVICE Filed April 17, 1945 u..- J.I

Patented Sept. 16, 1947 F FICE;

'ER-ASIN G DEVICE John-Buchanan- Lobh Southgate; London, EnglandAV Application Aprilfiv, 1945, seriarN-o. 588,763 In Great' Britain February 5,' 1945 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a: childs tracing device, andhas for its primary object to provide adevicewherein one of a. plurality or stack ofcardsr havingpictures, words, or. the like thereon and all-- housed within the device', is positioned behind and against the-rear face of. a translucent panel or window so that said" picture can be traced on the panel; It isa further object of theinvention to, provide a tracing device wherein. the matter being tracedT can be obscured-so that thev tracer can.v see the tracing, picture or the like onthe vwindow surface.

A further object'Y ofthe invention is` to provide a device wherein-l a cardcan be removedfroml the said device after tracing and which upon its reinsertionis guided to therear oithe stackv unless. it is. required: to,` return. the; card tothe-front.

Another object of the inventionis the provision of a device inwhich the stackis urged. forwardly so'that the frontcard is--pressed against; the window;

Other objects will be apparent fromthe follow ing description with reference to the accompanying drawings: which illustrate two preferred expamples of the invention, and wherein;

Fig. lis a front View of onedevice.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional sideview thereof;

with the. screen between the stackandthe window.

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view with the backremoved, the parts illustrated being commonY to` both embodiments, the second embodiment being illustrated in front view in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the shallow-box like structure I is made of thin or plywood or other suitable material and is of general, rectangular form. In the front face 2, and. occupying aboutone; half, is a? rectangular aperture; 3, on the rear of which is. fixed a panel 4,Y of, translucent glass Celluloidv orother suitable material. The back wall 5 ofthe box, which may be of cardboard carries` on its inner face one or more blades 6. of a springy nature which are formed or positioned so as to slope inwardly. For ex-Y ample, and as` illustrated brass. strips each. se

cured at one end tothe back;.extend downwardly and forwardly, the other or lower end being free and projecting intothe box. Alternatively therel may be provided one or more stri-psof thinwood, formed or packed at the xed endk to project as mentionedabove.

To each side wall I ofthe box and near the top or open end 1, a strip 8 forming. a` guidesurface is secured. These strips 8. one, at each 6,5

2. side, project across thev opena end for a. short distance,` and. incline. so. that a` card `ila` inserted into the open.` end is-` guided to the; rear-ofthe stack of' cards- 9; 'Ehe guide strips may be of wood as shown-z orthin meta-1 orothersuitablerigid: materiali, Air the bottom; of: the: box and adjacent the bottom wall and; extending vfrom side to4 side, isa further strip Hl: which slopes downwardly and fromV rear-torrent; This serves to; guide the bottom ofan inserted-card, and assistsin keeping' the stackA together; This strip` I0 in. cooperation with the springs holds the: facel of the front card hard against the window; It will Ibenoted that-the cards are shaped. at their sides sor that the upper edges normally liet-belowY the members 8.

To facilitate thel removal of the cards 9, the tops. I-I- thereof'which: project from, the box, are providedwith projections for-nger gripping, eye.- letsorthe like. As illustrated the top ofthe box. I; is archedand theV cards also are 'arched but at. a. steeper curve. In the centre ofeach card an= eyelet or aperture I2 isprovided which' is closed at the rear or blind like a socket, andA a cut away portion I3 is formed inthe top edgeof; the front face,- centrally thereof. To remove; the; front card, a pencil end is inserted in the hole-and the card is lifted.

The card so removed' is now slippedintheopen. end of the-boxv when the guides at the top-wi1l` feed same to the rear of the stack. Moreover theguiding strips` at the top allow only the front card tofbe removed as the-clearancebetweentheir front edges and therear of the front face. is

' substantially equal to the thickness ofv a card..

The bottom, guidekeeps the bottom. ofA thestack forward. The top,guides 8 are positioned above the topv edges of the cards-at` the sideswhen the removed card is inserted, the cards being shaped to allow for this. The front face of: the vboxmay.Y alsobe provided with one or more recesses I A adaptedto receive pencils and the like.v

In` the construction illustrated in Figs, 1 and., 2, means areprovided whereby a screen. may, beplaced between thel picture and the window.. 'I-'his-enables` the-tracer to study the. work carried out, without4 being confused by the lines of thepicture on the card. A. sheet IE. ofwhite Celluloid or like material of an opaque naturek is mounted within-the box and means are provided whereby said: sheet canV be slid. in front of the rst picture or withdrawnclear thereof; The front face-above the window ll, is providedwith: a centrally. disposedslot I6i extending from just above the-windovv to near the upper edge oithe.

inserting it between the front and upper edgesV of the members 8 and the rear of the front face. In this respect, cards may have matter to be traced on both sides, or where no screen is provided and the rear face is plain, a card may be inserted with its rear face to the window so that the matter traced can be clearly studied.

I claim:

1. A tracing device comprising a shallow box like structure open at the top, a window in the front Wall of the structure of a translucent nature to form a tracing surface, a stack of cards adapted to be housed in said structure back of the window, means for forcing the stack forwardly to press the front card against the front wall of the structure, and inclined guide means within the open top of the structure adapted to guide a removed card to the rear of the stack said last-named means being spaced from the interior side of said front wall of the structure the thickness of one of the cards to allow said card to be replaced at the front of the stack upon its insertion, if desired.

2. A tracing device comprising a shallow box like structure open at the top, and having side, front, and rear walls, a window in the front wall of the structure of a translucent nature to form a tracing surface, a shutter mounted behind said front wall, said shutter being slidable to thereby cover the window or be drawn clear thereof, a stack of cards normally housed within the structure, eyelet means dened in each card whereby the front card can be withdrawn from the box to expose the next card in the window by insertion of a pointed implement in the eyelet to raise the card from its position inside the structure, guiding means for guiding a removed card to the rear of the stack, said means comprising inclined surfaces mounted in the sidewalls and located one at each side within the structure and near the open end, said surfaces sloping downwardly and towards the rear of the structure, the upper ends of said surfaces being spaced from the rear side of the front Wall of the said structure a distance slightly greater than the thickness of one of said cards in the stack past the upper ends of said surfaces, said cards being so shaped and so proportioned at their sides that the upper edges normally lie below the said surfaces.

3. A tracing device comprising a shallow box like structure open at the top having side, bottom, front, and rear walls, a Window of translucent nature in the front wall of said structure, a central longitudinally disposed slot in the said front wall above the window, a shutter behind the front wall connected by apin projecting from the slot to a hand operated slider member, the movement of said member along the slot raising the shutter clear of the window or lowering same to cover the window, a stack of cards normally housed within the structure between the front and rear Walls, socket means formed in the top of each card whereby the front card can be withdrawn from the structure to expose the next card by insertion of a pointed implement in the socket to elevate the card from its position at the front of the stack in the interior of the said structure.

4. A tracing device comprising a shallow box like structure open at the top having side, front and rear walls, a window in the front wall of the structure of a translucent nature to form a tracing surface, a shutter mounted behind said front wall, arranged to slide to cover the window or be drawn clear thereof, a stack of cards normally housed within the structure with means whereby the front card can be withdrawn from the box to expose the next card in the window, guiding means for guiding a removed card to the rear of the stack, said means comprising inclined surfaces mounted in each side wall and located near the open end, said surfaces sloping downwardly and towards the rear of the structure, said surface being spaced apart to provide a gap between the front of said surfaces and the rear of the front wall, said cards being shaped at their sides so that the upper edges normally lie below the said surfaces, and an aperture centrally of each card end projecting from the stack for removal of the front card by a pencil or the like.

5. A tracing device comprising a shallow box like structure open at the top having side, bottom, front, and rear walls, a stack of cards adapted to fit Within said structure from the open end, an aperture in the front wall of said structure, a translucent window covering said aperture and forming a tracing surface, spring blades at the rear of the structure for forcing the stack forwardly, members sloping rearwardly and downwardly mounted in each side wall for guiding a removed card to the rear of the stack upon its reinsertion into the box the marginal side portions of the cards residing below the said sloping members, a downwardly and forwardly sloping strip across the bottom of the box, a central longitudinal aperture through the front wall and centrally thereof, a shutter within the structure against the rear of the front face, a pin connected near the top edge of the shutter and projecting through the slot, and a knob on the projecting end of said pin, whereby the movement of the knob and connected pin carried by the shutter along the slot imparts raising and lowering movement to said shutter for masking and unmasking the front card of the stack normally exposed for tracing through said window.

6. A tracing device comprising a shallow box like structure open at the top, said structure having side, bottom, front and rear walls adapted to receive and hold a sta-ck of cards inserted therein from the top, the front wall of the structure having an aperture therein closed by a sheet of translucent material to form a tracing surface, yieldable members attached to the rear wall adapted to press the cards forward against the window, whereby the matter on the front card is held against the translucent material for tracing, a sliding shutter member housed behind the front wall, said shutter being positioned clear of the translucent material during tracing, and means carried by said shutter, whereby the said shutter may be manually slid so as to reside between the front card and the translucent material when it is de'sired to mask out the said front card to observe the matter traced on the translucent material.

'7. A tracing box for use with freely removable cards having matter thereon to be traced, comprising a structure open at the top and having bottom, side, front, and rear Walls, a Window in the front Wall of the structure of a translucent nature adapted to provide a tracing surface, a shutter slidably mounted in the box behind the front wall arranged to slide behind the Window or to be raised clear thereof, yieldable arms on the inner face of the rear Wall adapted to press a stack of cards forward and thereby press the front card of the stack against the Window when the shutter is raised, and a downwardly and forwardly sloping elongated strip mounted in the bottom Wall of the box adapted to direct the bottom of cards inserted in the box toward the front 15 wall thereof.

JOHN BUCHANAN LOBB.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 544,642 Moore Aug. 13, 1895 118,180 Baade Aug. 22, 1871 10 1,421,975 Meyers July 4, 1922 1,282,382 Cross Oct. 22, 1918 193,099 Shepherd July 17, 1877 60,356 French Dec. 11, 1866 2,222,245 Steen Nov. 19, 1940 

